Information processing device, server device, and information processing system for execution of application based on near field communication

ABSTRACT

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided an information processing device including an activation control unit configured to transmit first information that includes information read through near field communication to a server device, to acquire second information transmitted from the server device according to the first information, and to control activation of an application of the information processing device itself based on the acquired second information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/416,390, filed Jan. 22, 2015, which is aNational Phase Entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International ApplicationNo. PCT/JP2013/068468, filed Jul. 5, 2013, which claims the benefit ofpriority from Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2012-169149 filed Jul.31, 2012 which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entiretyfor all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, aserver device, and an information processing system.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, systems that use the technology of near fieldcommunication using cards in which IC chips (IC cards) are embedded toenable use of automatic ticket checkers at stations, payment of productprices at stores with electronic money, and the like have becomewidespread. The near field communication is communication that can beperformed by devices when they come within about, for example, 10centimeters from each other. In such a system, when an IC card is heldover a reader-writer, use of an automatic ticket checker at a station,payment of a product price at a store using electronic money, and thelike are possible. Further, systems that enable use of automatic ticketcheckers, payment of product prices, and the like in the same manner byembedding such an IC chip in a mobile telephone and holding the mobiletelephone over a reader-writer have also become widespread.

In addition, recently, there is a system in which an arbitrary programstored in a mobile telephone is executed by holding the device in whichan IC chip is embedded near a reader-writer. For example, there is asystem in which, by holding such a device in which an IC chip isembedded over a reader-writer installed in a store, a coupon that can beused at the store is provided to the device.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1:

JP 2005-122491A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the past, in order to change a setting for deciding a program to beexecuted when a device in which an IC chip is embedded is held over areader-writer, it was necessary to change definitions thereof on thereader-writer side. Changing of the definitions on the reader-writerside needed to be performed manually in the past, or via a network whenthe reader-writer was connected to the network. When the change wasperformed manually, a work cost required from the reader-writer side forthe change of the definitions increased. In addition, when it wasperformed via a network, an introduction cost of the reader-writercorresponding to network connection increased.

In addition, when an application that reads an IC tag in near fieldcommunication and thereby operates according to the read result was tobe developed in the past, it was necessary to install a mechanism thataccesses the IC tag in each of applications. In addition, as data storedin the IC tag was optimized for each service, it was difficult to usethe data in other applications. Patent Literature 1 discloses anapplication program execution system in which flexible construction andchange are possible; however, in the system disclosed in PatentLiterature 1, linkage with applications within a device is not possible.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a novel and improvedinformation processing device, a server device, and an informationprocessing system that enable execution of an application according to aresult of reading an IC tag in near field communication whilesuppressing an operation cost.

Solution to Problem

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing device including an activation control unitconfigured to transmit first information that includes information readthrough near field communication to a server device, to acquire secondinformation transmitted from the server device according to the firstinformation, and to control activation of an application of theinformation processing device itself based on the acquired secondinformation.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda server device including an application managing unit configured topreliminarily retain information of an application to be activated in aninformation processing device, and an application activation instructingunit configured to acquire the information of the application to beactivated in the information processing device from the applicationmanaging unit according to information that includes information read bythe information processing device through near field communication andthat has been transmitted from the information processing device and toreply to the information processing device.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing system including an information processingdevice, and a server device. The information processing device includesan activation control unit configured to transmit first information thatincludes information read through near field communication to the serverdevice, to acquire second information transmitted from the server deviceaccording to the first information, and to control activation of anapplication of the information processing device based on the acquiredsecond information. The server device includes an application managingunit configured to preliminarily retain information of an application tobe activated in the information processing device, and an applicationactivation instructing unit configured to acquire the information of theapplication to be activated in the information processing device fromthe application managing unit according to the first informationtransmitted from the information processing device and to reply to theinformation processing device.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure described above, it is possible toprovide a novel and improved information processing device, a serverdevice, and an information processing system that enable execution of anapplication according to a result of reading an IC tag in near fieldcommunication while suppressing an operation cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustrative diagram showing a configuration example of aninformation processing system 1 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram showing a functional configurationexample of a system server 10 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram showing a functional configurationexample of a terminal device 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the informationprocessing system 1 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram showing examples of GUIs ofapplications to be executed in the terminal device 100.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram showing examples of GUIs ofapplications to be executed in the terminal device 100.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram showing examples of GUIs ofapplications to be executed in the terminal device 100.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram showing examples of GUIs ofapplications to be executed in the terminal device 100.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram showing examples of GUIs ofapplications to be executed in the terminal device 100.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing services to be provided to theterminal device 100 in the information processing system 1.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative diagram showing an overview of an operationof the information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the drawings, elements that have substantiallythe same function and structure are denoted with the same referencesigns, and repeated explanation is omitted.

Note that description will be provided in the following order.

<1. An embodiment of the present disclosure>

[Configuration example of an information processing system]

[Functional configuration example of a system server]

[Functional configuration example of a terminal device]

[Operation example of an information processing system]

<2. Conclusion>

1. An Embodiment of the Present Disclosure

First, a configuration example of an information processing systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to an accompanying drawing. FIG. 1 is an illustrativediagram showing the configuration example of the information processingsystem 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.Hereinbelow, the configuration example of the information processingsystem 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed using FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure is configured to include a systemserver 10, a web server 20, terminal devices 100 and 200, and an IC tag300.

The system server 10 is a server device that manages information used inthe information processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure to control operations of the terminal device 100through near field communication (NFC). As will be described later withrespect to a specific configuration and operation of the system server10, the system server 10 replies to the terminal device 200 withinformation of an application executed in the terminal device 200 basedon information transmitted from the terminal device 200 through anetwork 2. Here, the information transmitted from the terminal device200 through the network 2 includes information that the terminal device200 acquires from the IC tag 300 in the near field communication.

The web server 20 is a server that provides a website according to arequest from a client terminal. The web server 20 causes a website to bedisplayed in a browser application executed in the terminal device 100,for example, upon access of the terminal device 100 thereto.

The terminal devices 100 and 200 are devices that can execute near fieldcommunication with the IC tag 300 and then read information recorded onthe IC tag 300. Thus, the terminal devices 100 and 200 each have areader-writer for reading such information recorded on the IC tag 300therein. The near field communication performed between the terminaldevices 100 and 200 and the IC tag 300 is communication performed at afrequency of, for example, 13.56 MHz.

The terminal device 100 is a device that executes an applicationaccording to information acquired from the IC tag 300 in the near fieldcommunication. As will be described later with respect to a specificconfiguration and operation of the terminal device 100, the terminaldevice 100 is held over the IC tag 300, executes the near fieldcommunication with IC tag 300, and thereby can execute an applicationaccording to the IC tag 300 over which the terminal device 100 has beenheld.

In addition, the terminal device 200 is a device that registers afunction that the IC tag 300 provides in the system server 10 andchanges a function that has also been registered in the system server10. As will be described later with respect to a specific configurationand operation of the terminal device 200, the terminal device 200 isheld over the IC tag 300, then executes the near field communicationwith the IC tag 300, and thereby can register and change functions thatthe IC tag 300 provides in the system server 10.

As applications that the terminal device 100 executes according toinformation acquired from the IC tag 300 in the near fieldcommunication, for example, there are a browser application, a mapapplication, a mail application, an SNS application, a game application,an electronic book application, and the like. When the terminal device100 is held over the IC tag 300, for example, activating a browserapplication is designated from the system server 10, and access to awebsite that the web server 20 provides is designated.

The terminal devices 100 and 200 can adopt various forms as long as thedevices can execute near field communication with the IC tag 300. Forexample, the terminal device 100 may be a smartphone, a tablet-typemobile terminal, a reader-writer terminal, any of various electricappliances with a reader-writer, or the like. In addition, the terminaldevice 200 may be a smartphone, a tablet-type mobile terminal, areader-writer terminal, a personal computer with a reader-writer, or thelike.

The IC tag 300 is a tag that operates by receiving radio waves from theterminal device 100 or 200 when the terminal device 100 or 200 is heldover the tag. The IC tag 300 provides information to the terminal device100 or 200 through the near field communication when the terminal device100 or 200 is held over the tag. For the IC tag 300, various ones can beused regardless of a form and presence of a security function as long asthey can perform near field communication with the terminal devices 100and 200. Note that the IC tag 300 is assumed to store a tag ID forunique identification.

The IC tag 300 is provided in various forms. For example, the IC tag 300may be affixed to posters distributed in stores and streets. When a userof the terminal device 100 holds the terminal device 100 over the IC tag300 affixed to a poster, he or she can receive various services from aservice provider that supervises the IC tag 300. In the presentembodiment, when the user of the terminal device 100 holds the terminaldevice 100 over the IC tag 300 affixed to a poster, the terminal device100 can execute an application corresponding to the IC tag 300.

As the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure has the configuration shown in FIG. 1, when theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300, an application to beexecuted by the terminal device 100 can be designated from the systemserver 10. In addition, since the system server 10 manages setting ofthe application to be executed in the terminal device 100 when theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300, the informationprocessing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure enables execution of the application according to a result ofreading the IC tag through the near field communication whilesuppressing an operation cost of the system.

So far, the configuration example of the information processing system 1according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedusing FIG. 1. Next, a functional configuration example of the systemserver 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed.

[Functional Configuration Example of a System Server]

FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram showing the functional configurationexample of the system server 10 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Hereinbelow, the functional configuration example ofthe system server 10 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described using FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system server 10 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure is configured to include a user managing unit 11,a tag managing unit 12, a log managing unit 13, a service managing unit14, an application managing unit 15, an authentication informationretaining unit 16, and a system I/F 17.

The user managing unit 11 manages information of a user who uses theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The information of the user that the user managingunit 11 manages may include, for example, a user ID for uniquelyidentifying the user, and may also include a terminal ID for uniquelymanaging the terminal device 100. The information of the user that theuser managing unit 11 manages is used for services that the systemserver 10 provides, and used for other cases, for example, forinstructing the terminal device 100 as described later. to activate anapplication

The tag managing unit 12 manages information of the IC tag 300 that isused in the information processing system 1 according to the embodimentof the present disclosure. The information of the IC tag 300 that thetag managing unit 12 manages may be, for example, a tag ID for uniquelyidentifying the IC tag 300, a service ID for identifying a serviceassociated with the tag ID for uniquely identifying the IC tag 300, alocation ID for identifying a location, a store, or the like, and astore ID. Note that there may be a plurality of service IDs associatedwith one tag ID.

The log managing unit 13 manages various logs in the informationprocessing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Information of logs that the log managing unit 13 managesis, for example, a user ID or a terminal ID of the terminal device 100that is held over the IC tag 300, a tag ID of the IC tag 300 over whichthe device is held, a date and time of holding, additional informationtransmitted from the terminal device 100 when it is held over the IC tag300, and the like.

The service managing unit 14 manages information of services provided inthe information processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The information of services that the servicemanaging unit 14 manages is, for example, categories of the services tobe described later, a service ID for uniquely identifying a service, thename of a service, and the like. The service ID that the servicemanaging unit 14 manages is associated with a tag ID that the tagmanaging unit 12 manages.

The application managing unit 15 manages information of applicationsexecuted in the terminal device 100 when the terminal device 100 is heldover the IC tag 300. The information of applications that theapplication managing unit 15 manages is, for example, a service ID ofeach service that the IC tag 300 provides, an application ID foruniquely identifying each application executed in the terminal device100, an activation parameter designated at the time of activating theapplication, and the like.

The authentication information retaining unit 16 retains authenticationinformation for authenticating legitimacy of the IC tag 300 when theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300. The authenticationinformation that the authentication information retaining unit 16retains is, for example, a session random number to be provided to theterminal device 100, a master key for authenticating information thatthe IC tag 300 retains and a session random number, and the like.

The system I/F 17 is an interface for using information that eachelement of the system server 10 described above manages from anotherdevice, and for providing the information that each element of thesystem server 10 described above manages to another device. When theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300 and information from theterminal device 100 is transmitted to the system server 10, theinformation from the terminal device 100 is provided to each element ofthe system server 10 described above through the system I/F 17. Inaddition, when information that the system server 10 manages istransmitted to the terminal device 100, the information is transmittedto the terminal device 100 from the system I/F 17. Thus, the system I/F17 is an example of an application activation instructing unit of thepresent disclosure. Furthermore, the system server 10 may exchangeinformation with the web server 20 through the system I/F 17. As thesystem I/F 17, for example, an application program interface (API) thatprovides information may be used.

As the system server 10 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure has the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the system server 10can manage setting of an application to be executed in the terminaldevice 100 when the terminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300.Thus, the system server 10 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure can enable execution of the application in the terminaldevice 100 according to a result of reading the IC tag through the nearfield communication while suppressing an operation cost of theinformation processing system 1.

So far, the functional configuration example of the system server 10according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedusing FIG. 2. Next, a functional configuration example of the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will bedescribed.

[Functional Configuration Example of a Terminal Device]

FIG. 3 is an illustrative diagram showing the functional configurationexample of the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure. Hereinbelow, the functional configuration example ofthe terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described using FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 100 according to the embodimentof the present disclosure is configured to include a wirelesscommunication unit 111, a display unit 112, a near field communicationunit 113, a control unit 114, a sensor unit 115, a calling unit 116, amemory 117, and an operation unit 118.

The wireless communication unit 111 performs wireless communication withanother device (for example, the system server 10 or the web server 20)through a wireless network. The display unit 112 displays informationthat the wireless communication unit 111 receives, and informationaccording to an operation performed by a user with respect to theoperation unit 118. The display unit 112 is configured by, for example,a flat-type image display panel such as a liquid crystal display or anorganic EL display. In addition, in the terminal device 100 according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure, a touch panel may be providedfor the display unit 112.

The near field communication unit 113 performs transmission andreception of information with the IC tag 300 by executing near fieldcommunication with the IC tag 300. The near field communication unit 113is configured as, for example, a reader-writer, and performstransmission and reception of information with the IC tag 300 byemitting predetermined radio waves to cause the IC tag 300 to generateelectromotive force. The control unit 114 controls operations of theterminal device 100. For example, the control unit 114 executes aprogram stored in the memory 117, and thereby controls an operation ofthe terminal device 100. As control of operations of the terminal device100 by the control unit 114, for example, there is execution of a basicapplication for activating an application according to the IC tag 300through communication of the near field communication unit 113 with theIC tag 300. Therefore, the control unit 114 is an example of anactivation control unit of the present disclosure.

The sensor unit 115 includes sensors that sense various kinds ofinformation. As the sensors constituting the sensor unit 115, forexample, there may be a position sensor that acquires a currentposition, a temperature sensor that acquires a current temperature, andthe like. As the sensor unit 115 senses various kinds of information,the control unit 114 can use the information that the sensor unit 115has sensed as additional information obtained when the terminal device100 is held over the IC tag 300.

The calling unit 116 is constituted by, for example, a speaker and amicrophone, and executes a call based on voices with another mobiletelephone or a fixed telephone. The memory 117 is constituted by, forexample, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), and thelike, and is used to store programs for controlling operations of theterminal device 100. The operation unit 118 is constituted by buttonsfor operating the terminal device 100. According to operations of theoperation unit 118, the control unit 114 controls operations of theterminal device 100. Note that, when a touch panel is provided in thedisplay unit 112, the touch panel also functions as the operation unit118.

Note that, although FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the terminaldevice 100 in which the calling unit 116 is included, the presentdisclosure is not limited to this example. In other words, when thecalling function is not necessary for the terminal device 100, theconfiguration of the terminal device 100 may exclude the calling unit116.

So far, the functional configuration example of the terminal device 100according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedusing FIG. 3. By having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure canexecute near field communication with the IC tag 300, and thereby cantransmit information acquired from the IC tag 300 to the system server10. In addition, the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure can control activation of an application based oninformation with which the system server 10 has replied. Note that FIG.3 shows the functional configuration example of the terminal device 100according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; however, theterminal device 200 is assumed to also have the configuration shown inFIG. 3.

Next, an operation example of the information processing system 1according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[Operation Example of an Information Processing System]

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the informationprocessing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Hereinbelow, the operation example of the informationprocessing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure will be described using FIG. 4.

First, a method of registering the tag ID of the IC tag 300 in thesystem server 10 will be described. There are a variety of methods asmethods of registering the tag ID of the IC tag 300 in the system server10. For example, there is a method of registering the tag ID andinformation of a service colligated with the tag ID in the system server10 through manual input from a user using a terminal device formanagement (for example, the terminal device 200). However, when thesystem server 10 collectively manages information of the IC tag 300 asin the present embodiment, the tag ID of the IC tag 300 and the servicecolligated with the IC tag 300 can be registered in the system server 10using the terminal device for management (for example, the terminaldevice 200) without depending on manual input from a user.

In order to register the tag ID of the IC tag 300 in the system server10, the terminal device 200 for management is held over the IC tag 300and then reads the tag ID recorded in the IC tag 300 (Step S101).Through near field communication between the terminal device 200 and theIC tag 300, the IC tag 300 replies to the terminal device 200 with thetag ID (Step S102).

The terminal device 200 that has acquired the tag ID from the IC tag 300transmits the acquired tag ID, information of a pre-designated servicethat is desired to be associated with the IC tag 300 (for example, aservice ID), and information of a terminal ID of the terminal device 200and/or a user ID under which the terminal device 200 is operated to thesystem server 10 (Step S103). Note that the user ID of the user whooperates the terminal device 200 is assumed to be registered in theterminal device 200 or to be input by the user in advance using anarbitrary method.

Then, the system server 10 executes registration of the tag ID of the ICtag 300 using the information transmitted from the terminal device 200(Step S104). When the tag ID of the IC tag 300 is registered, the systemserver 10 may determine whether or not the terminal ID of the terminaldevice 200 and/or the user ID under which the terminal device 200 isoperated have authority over the registration of the tag ID.

As described above, by designating information of the service that isdesired to be associated with the IC tag 300 in advance with theterminal device 200 and holding the terminal device 200 over the IC tag300, the tag ID of the IC tag 300 and the service that is desired to beassociated with the IC tag 300 can be registered in the system server10.

Next, an operation example when the terminal device 100 is held over theIC tag 300 will be described. As described above, when the terminaldevice 100 is held over the IC tag 300 and information including the tagID of the IC tag 300 is transmitted from the terminal device 100 to thesystem server 10 in the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure, the system server 10 replies tothe terminal device 100 with information of an application to beactivated. The terminal device 100 that has received the reply from thesystem server 10 activates an application based on the information ofthe application transmitted from the system server 10.

Note that, as will be described later, the user of the terminal device100 activates the application in the terminal device 100 in advanceprior to the near field communication with the IC tag 300 in the presentembodiment. Then, the application being executed in the terminal device100 is assumed to activate another application based on information fromthe system server 10. This application that is activated in the terminaldevice 100 in advance prior to the near field communication with the ICtag 300 is also referred to as a basic application. Note that the basicapplication of the terminal device 100 may not necessarily be activatedprior to the near field communication with the IC tag 300. The terminaldevice 100 may be set such that the basic application is activated inthe terminal device 100 using the near field communication with the ICtag 300 as a trigger.

The terminal device 100 reads the tag ID recorded in the IC tag 300 whenheld over the IC tag 300 (Step S111). Through the near fieldcommunication between the terminal device 100 and the IC tag 300, the ICtag 300 replies to the terminal device 100 with the tag ID (Step S112).

The terminal device 100 that has acquired the tag ID from the IC tag 300transmits the acquired tag ID, information of a terminal ID of theterminal device 100 and/or a user ID under which the terminal device 100is operated, and information of a service desired to be used to thesystem server 10 (Step S113). Note that the user ID of the user whooperates the terminal device 100 is assumed to be registered in theterminal device 100 or to be input by the user in advance using anarbitrary method. The information of the service desired to be used isinformation of attributes of the service to be described later, and isdesignated by the user in the basic application as will be describedlater. As examples of the attributes of the service in the presentembodiment, there are a “membership card,” a “coupon,” and the like.

In addition, when the terminal device 100 transmits the information tothe system server 10 in Step S113 described above, the terminal device100 may further transmit information of the date and time on which thedevice was held over the IC tag 300, and information detected by thesensor unit 115 to the system server 10. The information detected by thesensor unit 115 transmitted from the terminal device 100 to the systemserver 10 may include, for example, position information of the terminaldevice 100, temperature information of the periphery of the terminaldevice 100, and the like. Note that information of a current positionmay be recorded on the IC tag 300. The terminal device 100 may transmitthe information of the current position read from the IC tag 300 to thesystem server 10.

The system server 10 acquires information of an application to beactivated in the terminal device 100 from information that the systemserver 10 manages using the information transmitted from the terminaldevice 100. Then, the system server 10 replies to the terminal device100 with an application activation instruction (Step S114). Theapplication activation instruction with which the system server 10replies to the terminal device 100 includes the application ID of theapplication to be activated. The application activation instruction withwhich the system server 10 replies to the terminal device 100 may alsoinclude an activation parameter to be used in activation, in addition tothe application ID. If the application to be activated is a browserapplication, the activation parameter to be used in activation is, forexample, an address to be connected during activation of the browserapplication.

When the application activation instruction is received from the systemserver 10, the terminal device 100 activates the application based onthe received activation instruction using the basic application (StepS115). If the application ID of the browser application is designated inthe application activation instruction, for example, the basicapplication executed in the terminal device 100 activates the browserapplication that corresponds to the application ID. In addition, if anaddress to be connected during activation of the browser application isdesignated in the application activation instruction as an activationparameter, the basic application designates the address to be connectedand then activates the browser application.

In description provided below, the application ID of an application isassumed to be designated and further the address of the web server 20 isassumed to be designated as an activation parameter in the applicationactivation instruction transmitted from the system server 10.

The terminal device 100 that has activated the application in Step S115described above accesses the web server 20 designated by the activationparameter through the browser application and requests desired content(Step S116). The web server 20 provides the content to the terminaldevice 100 in response to the request of the content from the terminaldevice 100 (Step S117).

Note that, when providing the content to the terminal device 100, theweb server 20 may access the system server 10 and acquire informationnecessary for providing the content from the system server 10 uponnecessity. For example, when the web server 20 provides a coupon ofwhich details of a service change according to the number of visits to astore, the web server may access the system server 10 to acquire thenumber of visits and then acquire information of the number of timesthat the terminal device 100 was held over the IC tag 300 installed inthe store.

The “content” mentioned herein refers to various kinds of informationprovided in a service to use, and when a “coupon” is designated in thebasic application as a service to use, for example, the coupon accordingto the IC tag 300 over which the device was held corresponds to thecontent. In addition, when a “membership card” is designated in thebasic application as a service to use, for example, the membership cardaccording to the IC tag 300 over which the device was held correspondsto the content.

So far, the operation example of the information processing system 1according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedusing FIG. 4. Operating as shown in FIG. 4, the information processingsystem 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enablesexecution of the application in the terminal device 100 according to theresult of reading the IC tag 300 through the near field communicationwhile suppressing an operation cost.

Next, an example of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) of applicationsexecuted in the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described.

FIGS. 5 to 9 are illustrative diagrams showing examples of GUIs ofapplications executed in the terminal device 100 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure. Hereinbelow, the examples of theGUIs of applications executed in the terminal device 100 according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure will be described using FIGS. 5to 9. Note that, hereinbelow, a case in which the IC tag 300 isinstalled in a store in Fukushima prefecture and a user of the terminaldevice 100 acquires a coupon that he or she can use in the store byholding the terminal device 100 over the IC tag 300 will be described.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram showing a state in which icons ofapplications are displayed on the display unit 112 of the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5shows the state in which the nine icons are displayed on the displayunit 112, and an icon 140 among the nine icons is the icon of the basicapplication. The user of the terminal device 100 can cause the basicapplication to be executed in the terminal device 100 by selecting theicon 140.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram showing a state in which a GUI of thebasic application is displayed on the display unit 112 of the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. TheGUI of the basic application shown in FIG. 6 is displayed, for example,immediately after the activation of the basic application, and is a GUIof a service selection screen 150 for allowing the user to select aservice. Before holding the terminal device 100 over the IC tag 300, theuser of the terminal device 100 selects a service that he or she desiresto use through the screen shown in FIG. 6. Note that FIG. 6 shows thestate in which a region 151 for selecting the service of “coupon” hasbeen selected by the user of the terminal device 100. In the presentembodiment, although the user of the terminal device 100 selects theservice that he or she desires to use before holding the terminal device100 over the IC tag 300 as described above, the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. The user of the terminal device 100 may select theservice that he or she desires to use after holding the terminal device100 over the IC tag 300. When the user of the terminal device 100 iscaused to select the service that he or she desires to use after holdingthe device over the IC tag 300, the terminal device 100 may cause only aservice that can be used with the IC tag 300 to be displayed on thedisplay unit 112. When only the service that can be used with the IC tag300 is displayed on the display unit 112, the terminal device 100 mayacquire content of the service that can be used with the IC tag 300 frominformation transmitted from the system server 10.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative diagram showing a state in which a GUI of thebasic application is displayed on the display unit 112 of the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. TheGUI of the basic application shown in FIG. 7 is a GUI of an instructionscreen 160 that instructs the user of the terminal device 100 to holdthe terminal device 100 over the IC tag 300. By displaying theinstruction screen 160 shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit 112, thebasic application executed in the terminal device 100 can instruct theuser of the terminal device 100 to hold the terminal device 100 over theIC tag 300.

When the user of the terminal device 100 holds the terminal device 100over the IC tag 300 in the state in which the screen shown in FIG. 7 isdisplayed on the display unit 112 of the terminal device 100, the nearfield communication shown in Step S111 and Step S112 of FIG. 4 isperformed between the terminal device 100 and the IC tag 300.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram showing a state in which a GUI of anapplication of which activation is instructed by the system server 10 inStep S114 of FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 112 of the terminaldevice 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. TheGUI shown in FIG. 8 is a GUI of a screen during activation 170 that theapplication instructed to activate by the system server 10 displays onthe display unit 112. As described above, the application instructed toactivate by the system server 10 is activated by the basic application.Here, the application instructed to activate by the system server 10 isa browser application, and a case in which a coupon is acquired byaccessing the web server 20 designated by the system server 10 is shown.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative diagram showing a state in which a GUI of thebrowser application instructed to activate is displayed on the displayunit 112 of the terminal device 100 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The GUI shown in FIG. 9 is a GUI of a coupon screen180 displayed on the display unit 112 when the browser applicationaccesses the web server 20. The coupon shown on the coupon screen 180 ofFIG. 9 is an example of the coupon distributed to customers whose numberof visits to the store of Fukushima prefecture is five or more. Bypresenting the coupon screen 180 displayed on the display unit 112 tothe store, the user of the terminal device 100 can receive a service ofone bottle of free juice.

So far, the examples of the GUIs of the applications executed in theterminal device 100 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure have been described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. Next,examples of services to be provided to the terminal device 100 in theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described.

In the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the system server 10 can designate anapplication to be activated in the terminal device 100 according to atag ID of the IC tag 300 over which the terminal device 100 is held. Inthe information processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, different services can be provided to the terminaldevice 100 according to a situation of a holding time even when theterminal device 100 is held over the same IC tag 300.

In the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, when coupons are to be provided to the terminaldevice 100, for example, different coupons can be provided according toa situation of a time at which the terminal device 100 is held over theIC tag 300.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing services to be provided to theterminal device 100 in the information processing system 1 according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure. The table shown in FIG. 10shows that content of services to be provided to the terminal device 100in the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure change according to a tag ID of the IC tag 300, auser ID of the user who uses the terminal device 100, sensor informationthat can be acquired by the sensor unit 115 of the terminal device 100,user added information added by the user who uses the terminal device100 when the terminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300,information of the system server 10 when information is transmitted fromthe terminal device 100 to the system server 10, and linkage informationwith respect to another server that is in linkage with the system server10 when information is transmitted from the terminal device 100 to thesystem server 10.

When the user of the terminal device 100 selects a “coupon” in thecategory of services to use and holds the terminal device 100 over theIC tag 300, the system server 10 instructs the terminal device 100 toactivate an application so as to acquire the coupon. Here, when a coupononly for a limited time is to be provided to the terminal device 100,the system server 10 determines whether or not the time at which theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300 is included in a targettime slot of the coupon only for the limited time. In addition, when acoupon only for specific weather is to be provided to the terminaldevice 100, the system server 10 determines whether or not the weatherof the time in which the terminal device 100 was held over the IC tag300 coincides with the specific weather. The determination of whether ornot the weather coincides with the specific weather may be performed bycausing the system server 10 to link to, for example, another serverthat provides weather information.

In addition, when a one-per-day coupon is to be provided to the terminaldevice 100, the system server 10 checks a log when the terminal device100 is held over the IC tag 300, and then determines whether or not acoupon has already been provided to the terminal device 100 that day. Inaddition, when a coupon only for a limited area is to be provided to theterminal device 100, the system server 10 determines whether or not thecurrent position that the sensor unit 115 acquired when the terminaldevice 100 was held over the IC tag 300 is included in a target area.Furthermore, when a coupon only for a limited temperature (for example,only for a hot summer day of 30 degrees Celsius or higher) is to beprovided to the terminal device 100, the system server 10 determineswhether or not the temperature that the sensor unit 115 acquired whenthe terminal device 100 was held over the IC tag 300 corresponds to thetarget temperature.

In addition, when a coupon only for a predetermined user demographic(for example, only for student) is to be provided to the terminal device100, the system server 10 checks a profile of the user when the terminaldevice 100 is held over the IC tag 300, and determines whether or notthe user of the terminal device 100 is included in the targetclassification. In addition, when a coupon only for during apredetermined campaign is to be provided to the terminal device 100, thesystem server 10 checks that a campaign number has been input to theterminal device 100 and transmitted to the system server 10 when theterminal device 100 was held over the IC tag 300, and then determineswhether or not the campaign number is for the predetermined campaign. Inother words, if input of certain information has been performed in theterminal device 100, the terminal device 100 also transmits the inputinformation to the system server 10 when the terminal device 100 is heldover the IC tag 300. The system server 10 instructs the terminal device100 to activate an application based on the information transmitted fromthe terminal device 100.

Note that in a case where a coupon only for a limited area, a coupononly for a limited temperature, a coupon only for a limited userdemographic, or a coupon only for during a campaign is to be provided tothe terminal device 100, the system server 10 may or may not considerinformation of the tag ID of the IC tag 300 and the user ID of the userwho operates the terminal device 100 into account when the system servertransmits the application activation instruction to the terminal device100.

As described above, even when simply a coupon is to be provided to theterminal device 100, the information processing system 1 according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure can provide the coupon that islimited under various conditions by taking various circumstances of thetime at which the user of the terminal device 100 holds the terminaldevice 100 over the IC tag 300 into account.

In addition, when any other service is to be provided to the terminaldevice 100, the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure can likewise take variouscircumstances of the time in which the user of the terminal device 100holds the terminal device 100 over the IC tag 300 into account.

For example, when a stamp-rally service is to be provided by holding theterminal device 100 over the IC tag 300 in the information processingsystem 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, thesystem server 10 takes position information that the terminal device 100acquired using the sensor unit 115 when the terminal device 100 was heldover the IC tag 300 into account. Therefore, the system server 10 candetermine whether or not the position is a place that the user of theterminal device 100 has visited using the position informationtransmitted from the terminal device 100.

Alternatively, when a service of a membership card is to be providedwhen the terminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300 in theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the system server 10 transmits an applicationactivation instruction to the terminal device 100 so that a propermembership card is displayed on the display unit 112 of the terminaldevice 100 based on information such as the store and the locationrelevant to the tag ID of the IC tag 300 and the user ID of the user whooperates the terminal device 100.

As such, when a coupon is to be provided to the terminal device 100 inthe information processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, for example, a different coupon can be provided tothe terminal device 100 according to the situation at the time when theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300. In addition, in theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure, a proper service can be provided to the terminaldevice 100 based on the tag ID of the IC tag 300 and the user ID of theuser who operates the terminal device 100.

As described above, the system server 10 generates the applicationactivation instruction for the terminal device 100 using the informationof the tag ID and the user ID (or the terminal ID) transmitted from theterminal device 100. Here, the user ID used in the informationprocessing system 1 according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be categorized into a plurality of levels. For example,the user ID may be categorized into four levels as below.

Level 0: ID based on a personal identification number (PIN) or biometricauthentication

Level 1: ID based on a trusted execution environment (TEE) or the like

Level 2: ID based on authentication of an embedded secure element (SE)

Level 3: ID based on authentication of a universal integrated circuitcard (UICC)

When the user of the terminal device 100 holds the terminal device 100over the IC tag 300, the terminal device 100 transmits the tag ID andthe user ID to the system server 10. At this time, the terminal device100 may transmit the category of the user ID to the system server 10.For example, when the user ID is categorized into the four levelsdescribed above, the system server 10 may manage the categories of theuser ID in a form corresponding to bits.

Further, in the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure, generation of an applicationactivation instruction and a linkage process to another service may beperformed using the information of the categories of the user ID inaddition to the tag ID and the user ID. For example, when a service thatis close to distribution of a paper coupon is to be provided, theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure allows the service even when the category of the userID is Level 0; however, when a ticketing service, a payment service, orthe like is to be provided, the information processing system maycontrol such that use of such a service is not allowed when the categoryof the user ID is Level 0 or 1, but use of the service is allowed atLevel 2 or 3. In addition, when a service associated with a cloudservice of a mobile network operator (MNO) is to be provided, theinformation processing system 1 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure may also control such that use of the service isallowed only when the category of the user ID is Level 3.

As described above, the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure can control a service levelaccording to a category of the user ID transmitted from the terminaldevice 100 to the system server 10.

In the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, by holding the terminal device 100 over the ICtag 300 and thereby transmitting information of the IC tag 300 from theterminal device 100 to the system server 10, an application activationinstruction according to the IC tag 300 can be provided from the systemserver 10 to the terminal device 100. Here, by adding a mechanism thatauthenticates legitimacy of the IC tag 300 over which the terminaldevice 100 is held, the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure can perform secure exchange ofinformation. Note that authentication of legitimacy of the IC tag 300 isauthenticating whether or not the IC tag 300 has been issued by abusiness operator that provides a service that the terminal device 100intends to use.

FIG. 11 is an illustrative diagram showing an overview of an operationof the information processing system 1 according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure. FIG. 11 illustrates the overview of theoperation of each device that constitutes the information processingsystem 1 that performs secure exchange of information by authenticatinglegitimacy of the IC tag 300. Note that, in FIG. 11, the IC tag 300 isassumed to be a tag that has a one-side authentication mechanism thatcan append a signature to a telegraphic message.

In the present embodiment, the system server 10 generates a sessionrandom number and provides the generated session random number to theterminal device 100 for secure exchange of information. The terminaldevice 100 retains the session random number acquired from the systemserver 10 in the control unit 113, and executes near field communicationwith the IC tag 300 using the session random number. The terminal device100 transmits a message authentication code (MAC) acquired from the ICtag 300 and the session random number used in the near fieldcommunication to the system server 10. The system server 10 performsauthentication of the MAC of the IC tag 300 and the session randomnumber transmitted from the terminal device 100. By performingauthentication of the MAC of the IC tag 300 and the session randomnumber transmitted from the terminal device 100, the system server 10can authenticate legitimacy of the IC tag 300.

The above-described operation will be described in detail using FIG. 11.When the terminal device 100 that has acquired the session random numberfrom the system server 10 is held over the IC tag 300, the near fieldcommunication is executed between the near field communication unit 113of the terminal device 100 and the IC tag 300. The terminal device 100transmits the session random number to the IC tag 300 (Step S211), andthe IC tag 300 replies to the terminal device 100 with the sessionrandom number transmitted from the terminal device 100 in Step S211described above and the tag ID and the MAC that the IC tag 300 retains(Step S212).

The terminal device 100 that has received the tag ID and the MAC fromthe IC tag 300 transmits the tag ID and the MAC acquired from the IC tag300, the session random number called at the time of near fieldcommunication, and information of the terminal device 100 for using theinformation processing system 1 to the system server 10 using thewireless communication unit 111 (Step S213). With regard to theinformation of the terminal device 100 for using the informationprocessing system 1, when the near field communication unit 113possesses the information, for example, it may be the information, andwhen the near field communication unit 113 does not possess theinformation, it may be the user ID and a password for using theinformation processing system 1.

Note that, when the communication of the terminal device 100 at the timeof the transmission of Step S213 from the terminal device 100 to thesystem server 10 is in an off-line state, the transmission may beperformed after an on-line communication state is restored.

The system server 10 that has acquired the information from the terminaldevice 100 authenticates legitimacy of the IC tag 300 using the acquiredinformation. The system server 10 can authenticate whether or not theterminal device 100 that has provided the session random number has beenheld over the tag using the issued session random number, and canauthenticate the IC tag 300 using the tag ID and the MAC acquired fromthe IC tag 300.

The terminal device 100 can retain an arbitrary number of the sessionrandom numbers issued by the system server 10 in the memory 117. Then,the terminal device 100 deletes one of the session random numbers eachtime it is held over the IC tag 300. When the number of session randomnumbers retained in the memory 117 reaches a predetermined thresholdvalue or lower, the terminal device 100 may access the system server 10to replenish the session random numbers. Then, the system server 10provides the terminal device 100 with session random numbers newlygenerated according to a request from the terminal device 100 (StepS214).

As each of the devices of the information processing system 1 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure executes the operationdescribed above, legitimacy of the IC tag 300 can be authenticated andthereby information can be securely exchanged without using areader-writer terminal that has a secure mechanism.

Next, a modified example in which the IC tag 300 is provided with an NFCforum data exchange format (NDEF) area will be shown. The NDEF is a dataformat used when data is exchanged in NFC. In the NDEF area, one NdefMessage is included, and the Ndef Message includes 0 or more NdefRecords.

The IC tag 300 may store information of a server that the terminaldevice 100 should access and a parameter that the terminal device 100transmits to the server in the payload of the NDEF area. Then, when theterminal device 100 reads the data written in the NDEF area of the ICtag 300 in near field communication with the IC tag 300, the terminaldevice 100 reads the information recorded in the NDEF area of the IC tag300 and thereby can perform access to the server and activation of anapplication based on the information.

A case in which exchange of information is performed as shown in, forexample, the sequence diagram of FIG. 4 will be considered. When theterminal device 100 is held over the IC tag 300, the terminal device 100reads the NDEF area of the IC tag 300 in the near field communicationwith the IC tag 300 in Step S111 of FIG. 4. When reading the NDEF areaof the IC tag 300 in the near field communication with the IC tag 300,the terminal device 100 may read the NDEF area using a discoveryfunction of the NFC.

Then, when acquiring the URL of the server and the parameter recorded inthe NDEF area of the IC tag 300 from the IC tag 300 in the near fieldcommunication, the terminal device 100 accesses the URL acquired throughthe near field communication and transmits the parameter acquiredthrough the same near field communication in Step S113 of FIG. 4.

The server designated with the URL (for example, the system server 10)instructs an application to activate and gives an instruction aboutdetails of execution in the application based on the parametertransmitted from the terminal device 100 in Step S114 of FIG. 4. Theterminal device 100 activates the application based on the instructionfrom the serer designated with the URL (for example, the system server10).

By accessing the server designated with the URL recorded in the NDEFarea of the IC tag 300 and transmitting the parameter recorded in theNDEF area of the IC tag 300 to the server, the terminal device 100 canactivate the application based on the instruction from the server.

In the example described above, although the information of the serverthat the terminal device 100 should access is set to be stored in theNDEF area of the IC tag 300, the present disclosure is not limited tothis example. For example, an activation instruction of a specificapplication of the terminal device 100, and a parameter used duringactivation of the application may be recorded in the NDEF area of the ICtag 300.

In this case, when the terminal device 100 reads the NDEF area of the ICtag 300 through the near field communication, the terminal device canactivate the application based on the activation instruction of thespecific application and the parameter used during the activationrecorded in the NDEF area. Also in this case, the terminal device 100may read the NDEF area using the discovery function of the NFC to readthe NDEF area of the IC tag 300 through the near field communication.

As the activation instruction of the specific application and theparameter used during the activation are recorded in the NDEF area ofthe IC tag 300, the terminal device 100 can activate the application forwhich the activation instruction is written in the NDEF area of the ICtag 300 taking the opportunity of being held over the IC tag 300,without performing communication with the server.

2. Conclusion

As described above, according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, it is not necessary for an object over which the terminaldevice 100 is held to be a highly functional device such as areader-writer terminal, and it is sufficient for the object to be the ICtag 300 in which data such as an ID is written in advance, andaccordingly a developing cost of the system can be suppressed. Inaddition, since a common application executed in the terminal device 100serves as a reading and writing mechanism with respect to the IC tag300, it is not necessary to install the reading and writing mechanismwith respect to the IC tag 300 in individual applications, and thereforeresources can be concentrated on the original functions that theindividual applications are supposed to provide.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, theinformation relating to the IC tag 300 is managed unitarily by thesystem server 10. Thus, by changing data managed unitarily by the systemserver 10, addition and change of an application to be activated andchange of an application activation method (activation parameter) can beeasily performed with respect to the distributed IC tag 300. Inaddition, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, re-useof the distributed IC tag 300 can also be performed by changing the datamanaged unitarily by the system server 10.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, aplurality of cases of activation of applications can be defined with oneIC tag 300. For example, applications to be activated and activationmethods (activation parameters) can be switched according to a situation(the date and time, position information, or the like) at the time whenthe terminal device 100 was held over, user operation of the terminaldevice 100, and past logs accumulated in the system server 10.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, logsare managed unitarily by the system server 10. Accordingly, details ofthe logs can be set for an application activation condition. Forexample, in the information processing system 1 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure, a service of distributing couponsor the like can be provided to users who have been frequently holdingtheir devices over a specific IC tag 300.

When there are a plurality of application candidates according tooperation in a normal smartphone, a screen for selecting an applicationis displayed, and an application that a user selects therefrom isactivated. On the other hand, according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, a unique application can be targeted to be activated in theterminal device 100 as a result of the terminal device 100 being heldover the IC tag 300.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it ispossible to easily change data managed by the IC tag 300. In addition,according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the IC tag300 retains a mechanism that can authenticate legitimacy, it canstrictly authenticate which terminal device 100 has been held over thetag at which location without a reader-writer terminal with a securemechanism.

The respective steps of the processes executed by each of the devices ofthe present specification are not necessarily performed in the orderdisclosed in the sequence diagram or the flowchart in a time seriesmanner. The respective steps of the processes executed by each of thedevices may be performed in a different order from the order disclosedin the flowchart, or performed in parallel.

In addition, a computer program for causing hardware such as a CPU, aROM, and a RAM included in each device to exhibit functions equivalentto the configuration of each device described above can also be created.In addition, a storage medium in which the computer program is storedcan also be provided. Further, by configuring the respective functionalblocks shown in the functional block diagrams as hardware, a series ofprocess can be realized by the hardware.

The preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been describedabove with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst the presentdisclosure is not limited to the above examples, of course. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

An information processing device including:

an activation control unit configured to transmit first information thatincludes information read through near field communication to a serverdevice, to acquire second information transmitted from the server deviceaccording to the first information, and to control activation of anapplication of the information processing device itself based on theacquired second information.

(2)

The information processing device according to (1), wherein theactivation control unit retains authentication information used inreading of information through the near field communication.

(3)

The information processing device according to (2), wherein, at the timeof reading the information through the near field communication, theactivation control unit deletes the used authentication information.

(4)

The information processing device according to (2) or (3), wherein theactivation control unit acquires the authentication information from theserver device.

(5)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (4),wherein the activation control unit causes information based onoperation of a user with respect to the information processing deviceitself to be included in the first information and then transmits theinformation to the server device.

(6)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (5),wherein the activation control unit causes information regardingattributes of the application to be activated in the informationprocessing device itself to be included in the first information as theinformation based on the operation of the user, and transmits theinformation to the server device.

(7)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (6),wherein the activation control unit causes information of a current dateand time to be included in the first information and transmits theinformation to the server device.

(8)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (7),wherein the activation control unit causes position information of theinformation processing device itself to be included in the firstinformation and transmits the information to the server device.

(9)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (8),wherein the activation control unit transmits the first information inwhich the read information includes position information of theinformation processing device itself to the server device.

(10)

The information processing device according to any one of (1) to (9),further including:

a near field communication unit configured to execute the near fieldcommunication.

(11)

A server device including:

an application managing unit configured to preliminarily retaininformation of an application to be activated in an informationprocessing device; and

an application activation instructing unit configured to acquire theinformation of the application to be activated in the informationprocessing device from the application managing unit according toinformation that includes information read by the information processingdevice through near field communication and that has been transmittedfrom the information processing device and to reply to the informationprocessing device.

(12)

The server device according to (11), wherein the application activationinstructing unit acquires the information of the application from theapplication managing unit and replies to the information processingdevice according to a situation at the time at which the information istransmitted from the information processing device.

(13)

The server device according to (11) or (12), wherein the applicationmanaging unit enables change of the information of the application basedon transmission of information from the information processing devicehaving specific authority.

(14)

An information processing system including:

an information processing device; and

a server device,

wherein the information processing device includes:

an activation control unit configured to transmit first information thatincludes information read through near field communication to the serverdevice, to acquire second information transmitted from the server deviceaccording to the first information, and to control activation of anapplication based on the acquired second information, and

wherein the server device includes:

an application managing unit configured to preliminarily retaininformation of an application to be activated in the informationprocessing device; and

an application activation instructing unit configured to acquire theinformation of the application to be activated in the informationprocessing device from the application managing unit according to thefirst information transmitted from the information processing device andto reply to the information processing device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 information processing system-   10 system server-   11 user managing unit-   12 tag managing unit-   13 log managing unit-   14 service managing unit-   15 application managing unit-   16 authentication information retaining unit-   17 system I/F-   20 web server-   100, 200 terminal device-   300 IC tag

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus,comprising: a near field communication unit configured to read firstinformation via wireless communication, wherein the first informationincludes information associated with an integrated circuit (IC) tag; asensor unit configured to detect sensing data, wherein the sensing dataincludes at least temperature information of the information processingapparatus; and circuitry configured to: transmit the first information,second information, and the detected sensing data to a server apparatus;wherein the second information includes user identification (ID)information indicating identity of a user and device ID informationindicating identity of the information processing apparatus; acquire,from the server apparatus, third information, based on the firstinformation, the second information, and the sensing data; and activatean application on the information processing apparatus based on theacquired third information.
 2. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication corresponds toshort-range wireless communication.
 3. The information processingapparatus according to claim 2, wherein the short-range wirelesscommunication activates a basic application on the informationprocessing apparatus, and the basic application activates a browserapplication based on application activation information.
 4. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to: receive the application activationinformation that includes an application identifier; and activate theapplication on the information processing apparatus based on theapplication activation information and the third information.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to add current position information ofthe information processing apparatus to the second information.
 6. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is further configured to: add fourth information to the secondinformation, wherein the fourth information is associated with a currenttime and date at which the first information is read; and transmit thefourth information and the second information to the server apparatus.7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe circuitry is further configured to: add fourth information to thesecond information, wherein the fourth information relates to aplurality of attributes of the application activated on the informationprocessing apparatus; and transmit the fourth information and the secondinformation to the server apparatus.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured to: add fourth information to the second information based ona user operation; and transmit the fourth information and the secondinformation to the server apparatus.
 9. An information processingmethod, comprising: in an information processing apparatus: reading, bya near field communication unit, first information via wirelesscommunication, wherein the first information includes informationassociated with an integrated circuit (IC) tag; detecting, by a sensorunit, sensing data, wherein the sensing data includes at leasttemperature information of the information processing apparatus;transmitting, by circuitry, the first information, second information,and the detected sensing data to a server apparatus, wherein the secondinformation includes user identification (ID) information indicatingidentity of a user and device ID information indicating identity of theinformation processing apparatus; acquiring, by the circuitry, thirdinformation from the server apparatus, based on the first information,the second information, and the sensing data; and activating, by thecircuitry, an application on the information processing apparatus basedon the acquired third information.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readableinstructions that, when executed by a processor in an informationprocessing apparatus, cause the processor to execute operations, theoperations comprising: reading first information via wirelesscommunication, wherein the first information includes informationassociated with an integrated circuit (IC) tag; detecting, sensing data;wherein the sensing data includes at least temperature information ofthe information processing apparatus; transmitting the firstinformation, second information, and the detected sensing data to aserver apparatus, wherein the second information includes useridentification (ID) information indicating identity of a user and deviceID information indicating identity of the information processingapparatus; acquiring, from the server apparatus, third information,based on the first information, the second information, and the sensingdata; and activating an application on the information processingapparatus based on the acquired third information.